Daring Friendship
by gemsofformenos
Summary: Gift 3 of my personal gifting season I have started to give something back to authors, who have inspired my work the most. Without them I wouldn't write the way I do. - Azula notice, that ShiLy's mood is getting sad and somber since some days and it starts to puzzle and worry the Princess.


**Hello everybody. The third gift to another awesome author, who has influenced a part of my own style. The story is directly linked with my big Azula redemption arc in 'A Way Back Home'. I wish all of you a lot of fun with it.**

**For serendipitymadness**

**I haven't told you how much your style has influenced my own, but I will do it here and now. It has a lot. 'Taming The Dragon' was and is my favorite story of yours and as you know I have started to read this one before I got my own account. It was so impressive how you have insert an OC in the existing story without changing the known plot. Izanami has never felt as an alien to me and more important was, I got attached to your OC. I started to read Taming The Dragon because of Azula, but I stayed for Izanami. The way you have managed to create an OC, to shape out the character and give her a depth was and is my inspiration when I come across the wish or need to write an OC. It is the reason why I have chosen to write a story for you with Azula and ShiLy, my first big own OC I have created for 'A Way Back Home'. Thank you so much for your wonderful stories. I hope you'll like this little fluffy one here.**

* * *

**Daring Friendship**

It was a slow changing in ShiLy's mood Azula noticed during her second week back in the Palace. The Princess remembered how the mood of the young woman has bloomed up during her time at their old hide. She had seen her spark returning and the happiness and hope, that she was finally on a way out of this mess. It was a blessing, that she was here at the Palace as well. Azula and ShiLy had spend a lot of time together. The Princess trusted Hamato's daughter and since she was still at the beginning of patching up her old friendship with TyLee, this new guest in the Palace was one of the anchors for Azula, which helped her to get used to this new situation. In fact she had helped her a lot to get a new perspective on her life, her former decisions and on her father. ShiLy was obviously happy to have Azula on her side and both spent a lot of time together, talking about their time in the asylum and their way in. It was easy for Azula to talk about these things with her. The shared experience made it easy to dare to talk about issues and Hamato's daughter was obviously feeling the same. Both spent long nights browsing through the files of the archives and of Ozai's secret office to find some hints where ShiLy's parents could be. Azula was impressed by her iron will, but as days went by without an positive message from the hawks Zuko has sent out, she could see and feel the change in her mood.

ShiLy was quieter than usual and her smiles got rarer. Her eyes were missing some of the fire, Azula used to know. There was a new sadness to be found in it and Azula recognized that this was truly starting to worry her. It was one night, when both were checking some files again, when Azula finally dared to ask her. ShiLy was reading a file, when the Firebender took the paper out of her hands to give her a pensively scanning look.

"What's the matter lately, ShiLy?"

The young woman raised her eyebrow in surprise, meeting Azula's eyes with slight confusion.

"What do you mean, Azula?"

The Princess rolled her eyes.

"You know what I'm talking about. You got quieter lately. Something new seems to gnaw on your mood and I want to know what it is."

ShiLy's reaction let Azula frown, because it was an unusual reaction from the woman. ShiLy stayed quite. Azula's worries grew as she noticed her friend sinking deeper in her chair, her arms crossed before her chest. Hamato's daughter was chewing on her lips and stared at the table in front of her, avoiding Azula's eyes. The Princess felt her throat tighten, as tears welled up in the woman's eyes. She was still unsure what to do in such moments, but finally she dared to take a hand of her friend to stroke it a bit. Her action let ShiLy jerk a bit, but she didn't took her hand away.

"What happened? Is it the work with the files? You know you haven't to help me with..."

ShiLy was instantly shaking her head and her grip tightened around Azula's hand.

"No! No it's not the files."

Tears started to run down her face.

"At least not alone..."

Azula felt her own lip quivering, but she managed to hold back her tears as ShiLy started to cry desperately. The Princess felt her heart cramping. She stood up from her chair and walked to ShiLy to rub her shoulders. It took some time until her tears run dry, but she was still staring at the table. Azula knelt down beside her and took a deep breath, before she started another try.

"What is it then?"

For a moment it seemed, that Hamato's daughter would consider to talk about it, but then she carefully pushed Azula's hands back from her shoulders with an excusing look on her face. Her red eyes were filled with sadness, and her voice sounded so sorry.

"Maybe another time, Azula. I'm sorry."

ShiLy stood up and walked out of the archive, wiping her eyes, while leaving. It was hurting Azula to see her friend so sad, but it was cutting deeper to feel rejected. She had dared to open up towards her, but this rejection was new. So much for daring a new life.

"I know what's wrong with ShiLy."

Azula glared at the direction of the voice. Toph had left her cover and was now leaning on a shelf. The Earthbender was having a serious face and had crossed her arms before her chest. Azula cured herself for always skipping the fact that the blind woman couldn't see her annoyed look, so she finally sighed and tapped at the free chair to offer Toph a seat. The woman walled over and placed herself on it. Normally Azula had expected that the Earthbender would place her feet on the table, but she only faced the Firebender with her blind eyes.

"I have eavesdropped a talk between ShiLy and a messenger some days ago. She has tried to get in contact with her old friends again."

Toph's voice fell lower and anger and sadness were in it.

"It seems that none of her old friends wants to see her again."

Azula felt a cold sting in her chest. She knew how rejection feels and she couldn't understand why someone wouldn't be in contact with a person like ShiLy. Toph seemed to have guessed her confusion.

"Don't worry, I also didn't get it. So I started to dig a bit deeper and guess what I found."

Azula's mind worked fast. ShiLy had visit best schools until her father left the Navy. She had told her how her life turned to hell step by step from this day on, like someone always knew where to strike hard. Someone must have provided these information. Someone like... her 'old friends'.

The rage hit Azula like a lightning and the fire in all lamps of the archive switched from orange to blue. Her words were pressed through her teeth.

"Her old friends have betrayed her. They have given Kokaso and my father the information they needed to destroy her."

Toph nodded and Azula noticed, that the Earthbender was making fists in anger.

"Correct. They have betrayed her to gain benefits from Ozai, but he lost and now they are disgraced and dishonored. They have been part of one of the biggest crimes in Fire Nation history and ShiLy is one of the persons, who uncovered this crime."

Azula needed some moments to control her anger, but with every breath the sadness in her got stronger and stronger.

"Now I understand. I know how lost and betrayed she must feel. And with her parents missing it must be hell for her."

Toph placed a hand on Azula's shoulder.

"You're the genius in here. You know her best. So what are we gonna do about it, Azula?"

Azula stared at the Earthbender with open mouth for a moment. Her voice sounded confused and surprised.

"We? So you would help?"

Toph crossed her arms again.

"Of course I'll help. ShiLy is a great girl and her former friends are idiots. So what can we do to make her feel better."

Azula frowned for a moment, but slowly an excited smile was coming to her lips.

"I might have an idea. I don't know if it would be your favorite choice, but I'm sure it'll help ShiLy and..."

Toph cut her off instantly.

"If it helps her, then I'm in. What's the plan."

Azula's smile grew into a dangerous one.

"Every plan needs an expert and so this plan too. We need to find TyLee..."

* * *

ShiLy had finished her walk through the gardens of the Palace. The fresh air and the stars have helped her to calm her down a bit, but the pain would never vanish.

Her own friends.

She always knew, that someone must have given all these information about her to Kokaso, but still she had hoped she would be wrong. But none of her old friends wanted to see her again. Some of them weren't even here anymore, arrested for crimes, driven away from the Capital, dishonored and disgraced and even the few, who still were here stayed distant.

ShiLy passed the wide halls on her way to her room. It would be another lonely night. She missed her friends. She missed her parents. She missed her old life, without the nightmares.

She opened the door to her quarter and nearly stumbled back into the hall in shock and surprise. She stared with open mouth into her room.

"Azula... Why... What is this."

Candles were burning in her room. The floor was covered with blankets, pillows and stuffed animals. ShiLy spotted a new big make-up table at a corner of her room and it seemed that the staff had prepared some cream for beauty masks. She also recognized another table filled with snacks and drinks.

"Since your old friends have let you down, we your new friends decided to have a sleepover tonight. Tomorrow we'll have a nice day out for shopping and spa, because we'll all need this to get ready for our short vacation on Embers Island."

Azula stood up from ShiLy's bed and walked over to the still shocked woman. The Princess was already in her red sleeping robe like the other girls. TyLee and Toph were siting on a pile of pillows, waving at the woman with beaming smiles. Even Suki was here. She and Azula had agreed to forget all issues for a while for ShiLy. Hamato's daughter was crying again, but this time it were tears of joy, as she got pulled into a hug by Azula.

"I have made the mistake to push people away and to bottle things up as I started feeling miserable. I won't let you do the same."

The Firebender's voice was warmer as she released ShiLy out of her arms. She faced the teary look of the woman with her golden orbs.

"You're not alone. You have people here, who care for you."

This time it was ShiLy, who wrapped her arms around Azula and she waved her hands a bit to signal the others to come over too. Soon they were all in a big group hug. The voice of Hamato's daughter was still shaking as she final got her breath back.

"Thank you, Azula. All of you. It's good to know, that I have friends I can count on."


End file.
